


Lab Partners

by SilverAmoebasquid



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: "I hate Miu and Kokichi" I say aloud, "I love Miu and Kokichi" I write in my lockable diary, Gen, aka the best, disaster duo of the day, school au, yknow a school that isn't going to kill them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 04:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19715908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverAmoebasquid/pseuds/SilverAmoebasquid
Summary: "You can pick your partners."It's usually a blessing to hear in class but Miu has no one loyal enough to her to work with so she gets stuck with the most annoying kid in class. Will she survive without having a conniption or blowing up the science lab?





	Lab Partners

“You can pick your partners.”

The cheers following the order left a sick feeling in the pit of Miu’s stomach. The rest of the class was ecstatic that they were allowed to pair up with their friends for the chemistry experiment, but those fated words were some of Miu’s least favorite.

Without even waiting to be dismissed, the rest of Miu’s classmates were scrambling out of their seats to grab the arms of their friends and find a lab station to work at on the counters surrounding the classroom. Miu on the other hand, didn’t bother setting down her feet that were kicked up on top of the desk. It wasn’t like she was in a rush to look around the room and be reminded she wasn’t anyone’s default option.

At the front of the room, Miu watched Kaito and Kaede fighting over Shuuichi who was blushing and trying to back away from the squabble. In the end, Kaede relented and stole Maki’s arm from where she was watching nearby, leaving the boys alone. Shuuichi looked embarrassed as Kaito skipped off to a station, but he smiled at Kaito’s enthusiasm and appeared eager to start the experiment. Miu thought being fought over by too many friends was a good problem to have — one that she wished she had.

Pretending not to have anyone in mind, Tenko approached Himiko and shyly asked if she had a partner yet. Miu scoffed under her breath just watching them pretend they hadn’t been stealing looks at each other since the order to find a partner. Dumb lesbians.

Even Miu’s shaky half-friends were already taken. Kiibo was the most amusing partner to have in class, Miu knew after sitting next to him for most of last year in math, but in this class, Tsumugi always stole him first and Kiibo had never put up a fight to pick Miu instead. Not that she’d expect him to. It wasn’t like they were really  _ friends _ or anything.

Even Korekiyo was taken, Miu noticed with a disgusted sigh. In past years, he had been one of the other outcasts that Miu ended up pairing with and he wasn’t a bad lab partner either, even if he was a little morbid while dissecting frogs last year. Though apparently over the summer, Kiyo had been taken in by Angie and now they sat together at lunch whispering and giggling about the cults they were in or something equally as weird that Miu didn’t give a fuck about. Blood of the cult covenant ran thicker than just about anything in the hell known as high school, or so it seemed, because the two always worked together now.

Within minutes, everyone had picked a partner and taken up a place beside a lab station, waiting for further instructions (aside from Kaito who was trying to start the experiment on his own without knowing what he was doing, while Shuuichi tried to pull potentially dangerous objects away from him). But in a class with an even number, there was still a partner left over for Miu, her only challenger for the title of most-outcasted-loser in the school. In some contexts, outcasts stuck together, but in this case, Miu would’ve rather let Kiyo dissect her foot (creepy commentary and all) than work with  _ him _ . And it looked like he had the same idea.

“Sir,” Kokichi whined to the teacher, never taking his eyes or his devious smirk off Miu. “I’m  _ really excited _ about this experiment and all... But I don’t think I can stay in class. I feel sick. I think I’m gonna  _ puke _ .”

Miu gritted her teeth at the glimmer in Kokichi’s eyes as he grinned at her. Miu hoped he would get sent out of class. She’d rather join an existing group or work by herself than partner with him. Unfortunately, a disapproving glance from the teacher’s desk to the known trickster sealed Miu’s fate. She sighed and stood up from her desk, dreading the next hour of her life of being forced to work with Kokichi.

Meeting her at the lab station, Kokichi looked unperturbed, hands resting on the back of his head and smiling like usual. “Hey, Miu. Glad you're available to be my partner. I was starting to think I was the loneliest person here, but I guess not.”

Was there anything at the lab station that Miu could use to kill Kokichi before she had to listen to his snotty, simpering voice any longer? Well, maybe she didn’t need to kill him, maybe just  _ severely maim _ was enough.

“You better fuckin’ watch yourself, punk!” Miu grabbed a jar of a mystery substance off the desk labeled “Chemical A.” It was taped shut, so she figured it might be dangerous. “Don’t fuck with me or we’ll be doing an experiment on what happens when Chemical A is poured in your eyes.”

“Whatever.” Kokichi looked disinterested. “You’re good at science, right? So I can trust you to get us a good grade on this?” Without waiting for an answer, Kokichi snagged another bottle and darted away.

“Hey! The hell you think you’re doing!?” It was too late. Miu’s classmates were clustered around the countertops around the perimeter of the classroom, listening to the instructions the teacher gave and starting on the experiment. Conveniently small, Kokichi had managed to disappear into thin air or possibly just behind a larger student. What he could be up to, Miu had no idea, but knowing Kokichi it probably wasn’t anything good.

Miu sighed and looked back at her own lab supplies. If Kokichi got in trouble for blowing something up, would she get in trouble too? Hopefully not. Well, Miu had said herself that she would rather work alone than work with Kokichi and it looked like her wish was coming true.

The packet of information for the lab was pretty dense but science was one of Miu’s strong subjects — of which she had many. She was, of course, a prodigy of her class — and she soon understood the task in front of her. She had five mystery chemicals in front of her (four, now that Kokichi had stolen Chemical B. But she’d steal it back eventually.) and a few basic substances. Her task was to identify the chemicals based on how they reacted in water, oil, and when heated with a flame. The rest of the information packet was full of stats on about 15 chemical compounds so Miu guessed that the five she needed to test would be included in that list. All she had to do was run tests and narrow down the options until she could identify each compound. The first team to correctly identify all five chemicals would be rewarded with homework passes and extra credit points.

Miu’s mouth watered at the prospect of skipping homework assignments with no penalty and more than that, she wanted the pride that would come from winning this game so she set in to work quickly and efficiently.

She crossed two possible chemicals off the list right away since they would release dangerous fumes when heated and there was no way that would be allowed in a classroom without any protection besides plastic eye goggles.

To test the chemicals, Miu carefully measured and poured and observed and took notes until she figured out what Chemicals A, D, and E were. She debated between two likely options for Chemical C, and she hadn’t had the chance to test Chemical B yet since it was still missing from her set. Miu was glad she hadn’t gone through on her threat to pour Chemical A in Kokichi’s eyes now that she knew what it was. It probably would’ve blinded him and she would’ve been in a heap of trouble.

As if he knew he was needed, Kokichi reappeared as suddenly as he disappeared. He had the stolen Chemical B in his hands, but the bottle was half empty. “Nice of you to finally show up.” Miu sneered at her partner, holding out a hand to take the bottle back. “What were you doing with that?”

“I drank it,” Kokichi stated.

Miu froze for a split second before she realized who she was talking to and continued her experiment, pretty sure it was a lie anyway.

“I was hoping between drinking strange chemicals and having to look at your ugly face, I might actually puke and get to leave class.” Kokichi wrinkled his nose, only to have Miu assertively ignore him.

Intent on finishing the experiment first, Miu ran a few tests on Chemical B until she could identify it. “Okay,” she breathed. Miu glanced over her shoulder at Kokichi who was at least still present and not being too annoying. “Chemical C is one of these two compounds but I can’t figure out which one. You wouldn’t happen to have any secret information on this would you?”

Kokichi shrugged. “I can tell you none of the other groups have figured out what Chemical C is yet either. Most of them have only gotten through one or two.”

If Kokichi was telling the truth, Miu was way ahead of the game and her heart swelled with pride in herself and her science skills. She couldn’t be sure of Kokichi's honesty but it encouraged her to keep working. “Well,  _ duh _ ,” she said for good measure. “Gorgeous girl genius Miu Iruma doesn’t come in second place to  _ anyone _ ! Now fucking make yourself useful and help me figure this out or stop talking so I can focus!”

Elbowing Miu out of the way, Kokichi pushed into the workspace, surveying Miu’s notes on the other four chemicals and the two possible identities of Chemical C. “Hm, can you combine C with one of the other four and figure out from the reaction what it might be?”

Miu pursed her lips. That wasn’t how the experiment was supposed to be done. On the very first page of the packet, the instructions had warned her not to combine any of the mystery chemicals with each other. There had to be some other information in the packet that would give away the answer of Chemical C’s identity.

“Hurry up,” Kokichi whispered, moving in suddenly right next to her ear. “I lied when I said no one else was close to where you were. Shuuichi’s really good at this. Kaito is slowing him down, but he’s about as far as you are.”

The warning made Miu’s heart race. She had to beat everyone in the class in order to prove herself. Maybe she would get people asking to be her partner for future experiments if they knew how good she was at science.

There had to be a clue somewhere in the packet that would give away the answer, but Miu didn’t have time to read it. Testing Chemical C’s reaction with one of the other chemicals would give her the quickest answer, but it was definitely more dangerous.

Thankfully, danger was no such hindrance to the gorgeous girl genius herself and Miu pushed Kokichi back out of the way to look at her notes. Based on her notes, Chemical C would potentially blow up if combined with Chemicals B, D, or E, but the reaction with Chemical A would either be slight fizzing or nothing at all depending on which compound it actually turned out to be.

Miu relayed her thoughts to Kokichi who raised an eyebrow at her.

“So? Then try it out and let’s see what it is?”

All the confidence Miu had for hypothetical situations flooded out of her when it came to actually testing the theory. “W-we can’t! What if I misidentified either one of them and something bad happens? What if there’s more information than what’s in the packet that we don’t know that would impact this? I d-don’t want to get in trouble if it goes wrong!”

Rolling his eyes, Kokichi snatched Chemical C off the desk and poured it straight into the jar of Chemical A. “Wimp.”

Miu gasped and stumbled back away from the desk, prepared for the worst. Instead, it was just as she predicted. The two chemicals fizzed up a bit but then the reaction died down.

Kokichi leaned back, arms crossed. “And there’s your answer. All thanks to me, of course. Call the teacher over!”

Still gaping at the massive risk Kokichi had taken, Miu raised her hand and called the teacher to their workstation where he silently looked over the answers filled in on the notetaker, then called out to the whole class.

“We have our winners. Everyone else should keep working though to complete the experiment as well though in the time we have remaining.”

Miu breathed out another sigh of relief as the teacher walked away. The risky methods for their experiment had gone exactly how she knew they should and she’d gotten all the right answers, but she still could barely believe it. She probably wouldn’t have gone for the unorthodox method either if not for Kokichi. Of course, she would’ve found a more valid way to find the answer, but this way had been much quicker and she couldn’t complain since it had been successful.

Kokichi flashed a wide grin. “Glad we didn’t test it out in Chemical B, huh?” Kokichi pointed toward the notes. “It definitely would’ve blown up if we had tried.”

“Well, yeah, that’s why I didn’t let us do that, dumbass.” Miu felt her normal confidence return at once, feeling a bit cocky that she had beaten the whole class at the experiment with only a little help from Kokichi.

Miu’s lab partner had yet to stop grinning and his eyes traveled over the rest of the classroom where everyone was scrambling to catch up with the winners of the challenge. Kokichi’s voice dropped to a low murmur. “Too bad someone’s going to get an unexpected result here in a minute...”

Eyes widening, Miu scanned the classroom, her heart rising into her throat. “What the fuck did you do!?”

Kokichi snickered. “Ah, you know... Just taking out our competition. We completed it first anyway but just in case we hadn’t...”

At that moment, a small blast and the sound of shattering glass resounded from the opposite side of the classroom and Miu watched as Shuuichi and Kaito’s workstation exploded. A few students (Kaito included) shrieked and the teacher hurried over. The explosion had been small and there were no casualties other than a shattered bottle in scattered fragments on the counter and floor.

“RIP in pieces,” Kokichi said, mockingly somber.

Miu spluttered for a moment until she came up with words. “You! Did you know that was gonna fucking happen!?”

“I had my suspicions.” Kokichi’s grin was back, mischievous as ever. He raised a hand for a high five. “Up top, lab partner.”

“No!” Miu crossed her arms. “Why did you do that? Shuuichi and Kaito could’ve been hurt! You have no idea what could’ve happened! You didn’t know what chemicals you were dealing with!”

The casual smile was still plastered on Kokichi’s face and it made Miu rethink.

“You... did know what chemicals you were dealing with?”

“Come on, Miu. You don’t think I would  _ actually _ do anything that could hurt them, would I?” out of a pocket, Kokichi pulled out a folded-up sheet of paper with the answers to the lab printed on one side.

A nervous laugh escaped Miu’s lips. Of course, Kokichi wouldn’t have risked injuring anyone, but a harmless prank to disrupt the class and guarantee a win for them? Not hard to believe at all. “You fucked up son of a bitch,” Miu laughed again, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Now up top?” Kokichi raised his hand again and Miu delivered the high five, grinning now too. Across the room, Kaito was freaking out and refusing to touch any of the equipment again and Shuuichi was cleaning up the small mess, looking perplexed, unable to figure out where his experiments had gone wrong. He had no idea that his work had been flawless and his failure was only due to tampering.

“You might not be a bad lab partner,” Miu admitted, watching the rest of the class too as everyone looked hesitant to run any more tests for fear of explosions in their own workspace. Knowing that there had never been any danger in Kokichi’s prank, it was pretty funny to watch the class fall into disarray because of it.

“Aww, the heartless bitch is warming up to me.” Kokichi put a hand to his heart as if he was touched. “Too bad next time we get to pick lab partners, I’ll probably get picked by someone better than you.”

“Better than me?” Miu glared. “Hah, as if someone better than me even exists! You’re not going to find another lab partner who will let you sneak off and play pranks without tattling on you. And besides, now I know your secret. I don’t think you really want someone like me ruining that for you, huh?”

Kokichi’s face fell into one of pleading. “Aw, you wouldn’t tattle on me, would you? We’ve been through so much together after all.”

Miu scoffed. “Fuck that noise! I’d tattle on you in an instant!”

“I could also tattle that you did the experiment without following the rules. I know how bad you need those homework passes and it would really suck if you got those taken away.”

“Ugh! What do you want from me!?” Miu was reconsidering pouring the mildly corrosive Chemical A into Kokichi’s eyes again if he didn’t shut up.

“Well, if I’m going to get good grades on labs  _ and _ have the time to have some fun, I’m going to need a lab partner who’s dumb enough to blindly do the work without telling on me. So...?”

Miu wanted to point out that his hypothetical lab partner would also need to be smart enough to do the experiments for the both of them, but the cocky grin on Kokichi’s face said he already knew that and had omitted it on purpose to tick Miu off. With that in mind, Miu stuck a hand out and shook on the deal with Kokichi, offering a wry smile in return.

Part of Miu felt like she was signing her soul away to the devil, but stronger than that, she couldn’t help a thrill flashing through her at the thought of all the shit they’d get into in this class and all the genius ideas they might come up with together that would win them more competitions. And of course there was the fact that when it came time to pick lab partners, Miu would no longer have to desperately rush toward someone who was probably already taken or wait in shame to be the last person without a partner.

For the low low price of keeping her mouth shut, she thought she could deal with gaining a consistent lab partner and winning Kokichi as an ally. The social side of high school proved hard enough to endure without someone she could count on to at least be her lab partner.


End file.
